Aftermath
by The Original Horcrux
Summary: "So they sat there, the writer and the detective, enveloped in each other's arms, desperately trying to avoid thinking about what could've happened and trying to focus on what did. Neither one spoke, there was nothing left to say, both were just glad that the other was there, both were glad that they were still alive." /- In every incident, there is always an aftermath.


**Authors Note:** This is a Post-Ep of 6x11, so it contains spoilers. If you haven't seen _Under Fire_, then I suggest that you don't read this, but of course, if spoilers are your kinda thang then go right ahead haha. Anyway, this takes place immediately after the Credits cut in after _Under Fire_. Enjoy!

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><p>"Excuse me, ma'am?" Beckett pulled away from Castle's embrace as she turned to see the Fire Chief accompanied by paramedics standing behind them, "We need to take Detectives Ryan and Esposito to the ER; they'll have suffered from smoke inhalation and mild burns at the very least."<p>

"Yeah, of course," Beckett said, reaching out a hand to brush Espo's shoulder as Lanie and one of the other paramedics helped him limp towards the ambulance.

"Ryan?" she said, reluctantly letting go of Castle's comforting hand and hopping onto the ambulance behind the Irish detective, "Hey, Ryan, they need to take you to the ER."

"I'm not leaving, Beckett," Ryan said, refusing to tear his eyes away from his baby daughter.

"You gotta," Beckett said, "You're hurt, Ryan, you need to let them take care of you."

"She's right, Kevin," Jenny said, tears were still streaming down her face, a mixture of joy and fear having caused them, "I'll be fine."

"Castle and I will take care of her for you," Beckett reassured him, putting a hand on his shoulder and offering her other hand. Ryan took it reluctantly, looking back down at Jenny and Sarah Grace with longing.

"Go," Jenny said, using the back of her free hand to wipe her tears away, "I'll be right behind you."

Beckett helped him out of the back of Jenny's ambulance and over to the remaining ambulance.

"Where's Javi?" he asked as Beckett handed him over to the paramedics.

"He's on his way to the ER with Lanie," Beckett said as the paramedics swarmed around Ryan, cutting his clothes off and plugging him into IV drips, "I'll meet you at the hospital, okay?"

Ryan nodded and the doors shut as the ambulance took off, siren blaring. Beckett shoved her hands in her pockets and clenched her fists tightly. She wasn't going to cry, not here, not after they were out safely. She searched the crowd for Castle and found him exactly where she had left him, with Jenny and the baby. She smiled slightly as she watched Castle grinning down at the tiny girl in Jenny's arms, occasionally breaking the grin to ask Jenny a question and then tickling little Sarah Grace's chin. Beckett knew that when the time came, he would be an amazing father, it was just her ability to be a mother that she was trying to suss out.

"Alright," Beckett said, hopping into the ambulance beside Castle and motioning for the paramedics to shut the doors, "Let's go."

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><p>The ride to the hospital seemed to take years and with every passing second Beckett felt herself becoming more and more agitated. She didn't know why, they were all safe, Ryan and Espo were on their way to the ER, Jenny had delivered her baby safely. They were all in the best possible hands, but the lump in her throat refused to go away. She felt Castle snake his fingers through hers and attempt to change the flow of the conversation.<p>

"Look at her, Beckett, she's such a cutie, Lucky she looks like her mom, huh!" he said, cooing over the baby in Jenny's arms. Beckett smiled and nodded, thinking of what may have happened if they hadn't caught the arsonist in time. Would Jenny be sitting here with Sarah? Would she be sitting in this ambulance with Castle, cooing over the new baby? The answer was no, she would be filling out paperwork, holding back tears, trying to act strong for Jenny, for Lanie, for Castle. She barely noticed when they reached the hospital and started to wheel Jenny inside to check her over.

It was like she was still living in the dream, a nightmare that she was supposed to have woken up from when Ryan and Espo were pulled out of that fire, but she felt like she was caught in some sort of limbo between dreams and reality.

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><p>"Kate?"<p>

Beckett looked up to see Castle standing at the end of the corridor, two cups of coffee clutched in each hand. She accepted one with a small smile as he sat down next to her.

"You okay?" he asked softly.

Beckett nodded quickly, trying to force the lump in her throat down, but it wouldn't budge. She felt tears welling in her eyes and quickly retracted her previous statement, shaking her head as tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. She felt Castle's arms envelope her and his chin rest on top of her head as she started to shake with sobs.

"Shh," Castle said, rubbing small circles in her back, "it's fine; everything's okay."

"I know," Beckett whispered, trying to control her voice and pull back the tears, "It's just, we were so close, Castle, so close to losing them."

"I know, honey, I know," He said comfortingly, "But we didn't, they're safe, they're just sleeping now."

"I was so scared, Castle," she whispered, "So scared that I was going to lose them both."

"Seems like they're giving you a taste of your own medicine," Castle said with a grin, attempting to lighten the mood. It forced a small smile out of Beckett but Castle could sense that no more humour was needed in this situation.

So they sat there, the writer and the detective, enveloped in each other's arms, desperately trying to avoid thinking about what could've happened and trying to focus on what did. Neither one spoke, there was nothing left to say, both were just glad that the other was there, both were glad that they were still alive.

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><p>She couldn't sleep, there was no way she could close her eyes without seeing the raging flames of the fire and the corpses of her two best friends. She opened her eyes slowly, trying to fight off the fatigue as she looked across at the two beds in the recovery ward that she had fallen asleep next to. Castle was snoring away in the chair beside her, his head lolling to the side and Beckett knew that he would complain of a crick neck when he woke up but she didn't have the heart to wake him now, not when his sleep was undisturbed by nightmares of burned bodies.<p>

She looked at her watch – it was nearly seven in the morning. Ryan and Espo had been under anaesthetic since they'd come out of surgery to fix minor fractures that they had suffered when they had fallen, she and Castle had been with them ever since.

She looked over at Espo who was the better off of the two of them, he had suffered more from the smoke and less from the fall and the flames. Ryan, however, had been severely burnt down one side and his lower left leg had been badly fractured. Both of them sported their fair share of cuts and bruises all over their bodies.

She felt a hand reach out and touch hers.

"Morning," Castle whispered, rubbing the back of his neck, "My neck hurts."

Beckett smiled slightly and leaned over to give him a kiss, "Hi."

"You look knackered, did you sleep at all?" Castle asked, rubbing his eyes. Beckett shook her head and blinked quickly to keep her eyes open.

"Couldn't," Beckett said, "I just can't stop thinking about what might've happened."

Castle shifted his chair closer to hers and took one of her hands in his, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand softly. His touch although not much of a change from what she was doing beforehand, made the world of difference. She felt some of the anxiety leave her, she felt the fatigue lift for just a couple of seconds as he smiled slightly at her. He didn't even need to say anything, she knew that he was telling her that everything was fine, that they didn't need to think like that. But Beckett knew that underneath the façade he was hurting too. She returned the smile quickly in an attempt to let him know that she was okay.

"Coffee," Castle said suddenly, "I'll go and get Coffee… where's Jenny gone, I'll get some for her too."

"They put her up in a room overnight, wanted to check her over and monitor her and the baby," Beckett said, rubbing her eyes, "She should be down in a bit though."

Castle nodded and hurried out of the room, Beckett smiled after him, even in a crisis Castle still brought her early morning coffee.

"Stop smiling after him like that, people might start to think you're engaged."

Beckett whipped around, "Ryan!"

The Irish detective must've woken up a short time after Castle had. She sprung from her chair which was closer to Javi's bed and sat down in the chair at the head of his bed.

"Whoa, Beckett, calm down you already knew I was going to live," Ryan joked as Beckett grabbed one of his hands.

"You inhaled a fair bit of smoke and you're burnt, fractured your left leg badly too."

Ryan scoffed, "Hardly anything compared to you though, right?"

Kate rolled her eyes, "Yeah, well, at least we know the fire didn't burn up your sense of humour."

Ryan laughed, patting Beckett's arm lightly, "Where's Jenny?"

"They put her up in a maternity ward overnight to make sure everything was okay, but she should be down soon," Beckett said, still smiling at him. Ryan nodded.

"And Javi?"

Beckett pointed to the bed next to him, "Still asleep."

"Typical," Ryan said with a grin, "Hey, Castle, any chance of a coffee for me?"

Beckett looked back over her shoulder to see Castle standing in the doorway with three coffees. He rolled his eyes at Ryan.

"No, but I did manage to find your wife and child," he said, stepping aside to reveal Jenny and a small bundle in her arms.

"Jenny!" Ryan said, struggling to sit up, "Oh my god, are you alright?"

"Yeah," Jenny said walking inside the room, "Yeah, I'm fine, are you?"

"Yeah," Ryan said with a grin, "Fine… Can I see her?"

Jenny nodded as tears welled in her eyes. Beckett stood up quickly and moved to the side as Jenny moved towards the bed. She felt Castle's hand snake around her waist and draw her close to his side. She accepted the warm Styrofoam mug from him and smiled as she watched Jenny hand Sarah Grace to her dad. Beckett felt tears stinging at her eyes again but this time, they weren't tears of fear. She watched as tears slid down the faces of both new parents as they looked down at their daughter.

"You know," Jenny said, "I always thought it'd be me in the bed and you sitting next to me… I never imagined that it would be the other way around."

Ryan laughed a watery laugh, still not looking away from his daughter's face, wiping tears away with the back of his hand.

"You're not getting all sentimental on me are you, bro?"

"Espo," Beckett said, relieved that both of her colleagues had woken up without complication, "Are you alright?"

"Not until Ryan stops crying," Esposito said groggily.

"Come on," Ryan said as Esposito pushed himself up onto his pillows, "You wanna hold her?"

Esposito looked shocked that he had even been offered, "Er… yeah, okay?" Ryan handed Sarah Grace gently back to Jenny who took the tiny baby gingerly in her arms and moved her across to Esposito's bed.

"Just support her head," Jenny said as she lowered Sarah Grace into Esposito's arms. Esposito took hold of the baby awkwardly and looked down on her tiny face. Beckett saw tears start to well in his eyes as he looked down at his partner's baby.

"Bro," he said, looking over at Ryan, "Tell your kid to stop making me cry."

Ryan laughed, tears still trickling down his face as he watched his partner with his daughter.

"I'm serious!" he said, "She's ruining my rep, although I'm glad she looks like her mom."

"Hey!" Ryan said defensively as Esposito motioned to hand her back to Jenny. Beckett looked on, cup of coffee forgotten as Jenny moved back over to Ryan's bed.

They couldn't change what happened the previous night and even though they all desperately wanted to, all they could do was be happy that everything had turned out fine in the end.


End file.
